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DES MOINES, Iowa -- A house on Des Moines' north side became an unintended target during gunfire Wednesday night.

Police responded to the shooting at 1317 8th St. around 8 p.m.

Resident Ed Bloomer said he heard the gunshots but didn't realize they were hitting his home. He's grateful he and his roommates are alive.

"[My roommate] was in the front bedroom here on the first floor, and two shots came through on the driveway side and kind of shook her up," he said.

Investigators found close to a dozen 9-millimeter shell casings around the home but no weapon.

Des Moines Sgt. Ryan Doty expressed his frustration with these types of cases.

"The real victims are the people completely uninvolved who get their house shot at just because the targets happen to be in front of their house or in front of their car," he said. "That’s how innocent citizens get wrapped up into these incidents."

The 911 caller was able to identify three men who were seen running near the house. Police caught to the men about a block away. They say they were being shot at but didn't know by who. The men admitted they were in gang and that the shooting may be gang-related.

"It's unfortunate that we don’t get a lot of cooperation in these instances. A lot of times if it does end up being gang-related, your victims don’t want to be victims and they don’t want to provide any information. And that makes it really hard for our investigators to follow up on and clear any of these cases," said Doty.